BFTG-Bournemouth

[paultheroyal]

That was absolutely shambolic. I defend the team and I defend Adkins but after last night not a chance.

I know he is limited on options etc but why can't the management team see that we have the most cumbersome and slowest back line in living memory. Gorks should never be allowed to put a Reading FC shirt on again.

This division is all about pace, power and energy. Bournemouth had that in abundance last night, we thought it was. Preseason friendly.

Gorks truly dreadful.
Gunter got done so many times last night.
Pog... His heading ability and falling over is embarrassing.
Drenthe... Went missing and livid for not squaring.

Worst away performance I have seen in years.

Fair play to Bournemouth and wish them well. Every year one team comes from nowhere... It's looking like then.

Great atmosphere until the second goal went in.

I thought the area was quite intimidating when around the town. As if police were expecting trouble.

Reading FC and police recommended the mello mello - omfg.... What a shambles of a place!

Anyway....we are 6th and onward and upwards yet realistically it will be mediocrity and downwards.

[Big Foot]

I suggest Adkins rewatches that 1st half during the extended Summer break he's lucky enough to get from Reading's play-offs exit.

That Bournemouth side played with the exact way that Adkins and the RTGers and the social media campaigners were telling us all that RFC would play this season. Effective, controlled and measured with possession, looking to get in behind at all opportunities, harassing Reading players when they had the ball as if their lives depended on it.

That aside, it was like watching an upcoming boxer fight an old has been and if it was a boxing match, no one would've blamed the ref for calling it off at Half Time. I certainly did - back in Newbury by 10pm, thanks very much.



Bournemouth - good luck to em, it would be absolute chaos down there with thousands and thousands of Spurs, United, Liverpool etc turning up en masse. Their infrastructure isn't really setup for the Championship, nevermind the Premier League - so it would fill me with deep joy to lol at them in the PL every week.

[paultheroyal]

Decent post BF.

[EarleyRoyal16]

What a load of toss.

Can't really blame Nigel for having that midfield when all the other options are injured.

McAnuff and Obita had absolute shockers in midfield, what idiot told Adkins that Jobi can play there, seriously?

At first I always wondered why we never win if we concede first, but after that it finally clicked, the players just aren't bothered, their heads drop as soon as we concede and it's an uphill struggle from there.

But some moments of chances: For the life of me why the oxf*rd did Drenthe not square it? When the ball fell to Pog on the edge of the box why did he not take a touch? Why was Gorkss, in acres of space, incapable of at least diverting his header on target?

The players in this team are all about themselves, no togetherness in the squad, It's just a shambles.

But hey ho, we recover from this and stay 6th and ultimately win the playoffs and no one cares about that embarrassment of a game.

Credit to Bournemouth though, Eddie Howe's got them playing some brilliant football, looked worth a playoff place today,

[paddy20]

Another dismal performance. I predicted we would lose last night but the manner of that defeat was shocking. Adkins team selection ( whilst limited) was clueless along with our tactics. A friend of mine (a Bomo supporter) thought Gorks was the worst player he had seen for years. Our away wins were mostly against poor opposition. We started the season as one of the favourites to go straight back up. We are ending it in failing to make the play-offs. Adkins must take the full blame. I hope next season we can re-build around our young players. Put Dolan in charge as we will be operating on a shoe string as I can't see anyone coming in for us. Prepare for championship mediocracy for a while with the promise of an exciting committed young team pushing for promotion in 2017.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Some of us might take the piss out of QPR and their overpaid money grabbers but this is exactly what we've turned into.

GET THE LOT OF THEM OUT AND START AGAIN. SPINELESS, LACKLUSTRE AND DISGUSTING.

EVEN MORE ANGRY TODAY GET THEM ALL OUT.

[Big Foot]

A special mention to Chris Gunter - Reading had made a decent start to the game with 1 or 2 early chances. He has the ball on the halfway line, not a man around him for 10 yards, no pressure whatsoever. So, with Adkins brand of slick and quick passing football.....what happened next?

A) Gunter kept possession and played a simple ball
B) Gunter went on an enterprising run down the wing to invite Bournemouth onto him
C) Gunter chipped the ball up to ALF, surrounded by 6ft+ defenders who mopped the ball up and then exploited the fact he was out of position with a better ball into the channel for an energetic and hungry striker to chase onto and square for his team mate to score


It truly was all downhill from there.

[JakeTheRoyal]

With have got no hope, home form is dreadful, could be 9th before we kick off on Monday. Leicester won't take amy prisoners after their performance last night. Could see us finishing 10th. Nige will leave without any investment and we will be looking inside, Dolan possibly. Team will lose big players and will be looking at a bottom half finish next season

[boycey]

Why do people get so worked up? We're not very good, no one has ever really claimed we are. We dont have the players availiable at this stage of the season to make a difference.
That was the best team availiable last night. Chosen by professionals that spend the entire week training with the team and watching them perform.

We win some, lose some. At this stage thats enough to make us the 6th best team in very average league.

[bobby1413]

Started drinking at 1130am and carried on. Stupidly got another 8 cans of Stella for journey home which I can't remember.

Apparently I talked utter shit to someone on the train who didn't know how to reply to me.

In work this morning for about 730 and been told I stink of stale beer.

Bad times

[Pepe the Horseman]

Bobby. I think you've got a problem.

[PieEater]

#bladderbrag

[RoyalBlue]

For those bemoaning our lack of midfield players last night, two thoughts:

Chris Baird
Promised January transfer funding not forthcoming.

Why do people get so worked up? We're not very good, no one has ever really claimed we are. We dont have the players availiable at this stage of the season to make a difference.
That was the best team availiable last night. Chosen by professionals that spend the entire week training with the team and watching them perform.

We win some, lose some. At this stage thats enough to make us the 6th best team in very average league.

Pretty much sums up why we are where we are.

As for people getting worked up - pretty understandable really when it seems everyone at the club may well have blown what, with a bit more investment and effort, was potentially a very good chance of going straight back to the PL.

[bobby1413]

Bobby. I think you've got a problem.

Nah I'm alright

[RoyalBlue]

First BFTG effort from me for a bit. Simply because I haven't bothered attending the last couple of games, such is my dislike of and distrust for this current team.

Truly awful this evening. Ludicrous team selection. Why are Guthrie and Williams incapable of playing twice in a week? Notwithstanding that, we played 4 wingers across the middle of the park and got overrun in front of the two slowest centre-halves in the division. If Leigertwood was fit enough to come on after 60 minutes then why not start him and offer some protection to our back four?

Against a side bang in form, bang up for it and with good movement we should have looked to spoil and restrict. I haven't heard Adkins post-match witterings nor do I really care to hear them because as usual they will be full of hyperbole and management speak and devoid of any analysis which might fool one into thinking he knows what he is doing and that he isn't in fact the most expensive mistake this club has ever made. In fact, for all the tactical nous Adkins displays on nights like this you may as well have Craig Mortimer as manager and save some much needed money.

This is a rancid Reading team clearly full of big egos who do not remotely justify their huge individual opinions of themselves, let alone the huge salary many of them command. I will be genuinely delighted when many of them inevitably leave in the Summer, I might even begin attending games again.

Why didn't Legs start? Probably because the pace and demands of the first thirty minutes of a game are likely to be far greater than the last 30 minutes!

As for Mortimer as manager - why not let Madejski do it. Might as well given that his financial decisions and eagerness to sell are likely to limit the ability of any manager to do a decent job.

[billybraggsbeard]

I know it's easy to be wise after event, but after having a few beers in the concourse last night and seeing the team had Guthrie in it, only to watch the teams come out and HRK replacing the injured Guthers my first thought was why aren't we using either of the two central midfielders on the bench as in Ledge and the hurriedly added Jake Taylor. Instead we had a winger tuned full back in Obita who tried but was woefully exposed and Jobi who thinks he can play central midfield ,which he last night totally disproved, but in his defence Bournemouth were very good and he had no support. On a slightly different subject Grabban showed what a proper centre forward does, he chased, he harried, he jumped he made the defenders nervous people say oh Pog battled well, but even on a good day he is a pale imitation of what a proper centre forward should be

[Pepe the Horseman]

Bobby. I think you've got a problem.

Nah I'm alright

It's not your fault. We love you and we're here for you.

[under the tin]

The London marathon is on this weekend.
There are obviously some on here who reason that because Usain Bolt is the fastest man on the planet, were he to enter that event, he'd win it. Easily.

To get any kind of result away at the most bang in form team in the division would be a difficult ask in any event, but to try to do so with an ageing left back just returning after several months out with injury, 2 central defenders who are vulnerable to pace, 4 wingers strung out across midfield, and an ineffective, underperforming front two requires a considerable leap in faith to consider it remotely possible.
Factor in that the only recognised first team squad central midfielder available had been out injured for nearly a year and made the bench, (and got brought on) should scream at everyone exactly how far up the financial sh1t creek Reading football club actually is.

I'm do wonder about these "injuries". What with the convoluted nature of player contracts these days, with extra money being paid for first X1 appearance/bench place, perhaps, just perhaps team/squad selection is being influenced by monies available. We know from experience that Harte isn't the quickest, and possibly GMac (highest number of assists) would have been able to exploit this. He made the bench, but wasn't brought on. Even for half an hour. Odd.

There's many on here who want Adkins out. For my money, the bloke's been sold a pup. He wants to play a certain way, but does not have the requisite personnel in the key areas needed to implement this. He has been given no support whatsoever by the owners to strenghthen in weak areas, and has inherited a disfunctional bunch of ego's on silly money.

If we don't make the play offs, it will be a blessing because the delusional view of how good this squad actually is will evaporate.
Abilities of squads, on paper, counts for nothing. It's what happens on the pitch that tells the tale. Premier League? We are not even a good championship side.

Good luck to Bournemouth. They're on a roll, just like us, a couple of years ago. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them go unbeaten for the rest of the season.
If they go up, I hope they stuff that Red shower on the Itchen.

[melonhead]

in real trouble now.
needs some sort of epic turnaround to avoid being caught in my opinion.
strikers not in form, no CMs, injuries everywhere.
this is going to be tough

gutted, but at least the youngsters will get a chance next year

[Pepe the Horseman]

in real trouble now.
needs some sort of epic turnaround to avoid being caught in my opinion.
strikers not in form, no CMs, injuries everywhere.
this is going to be tough

gutted, but at least the youngsters will get a chance next year

You should post that in my reasons to be cheerful thread